PHRca Health, Safety, and Workers' Comp 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which California law requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who work 30 or more days within a year in California?
- Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (Correct answer)
- California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
- Kin Care Law (Labor Code 233)
- Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) Law
Correct answer: Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014
The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 requires California employers to provide at least 24 hours (or 3 days) of paid sick leave annually.
Question 2: A California employee sustains an ergonomic injury from repetitive motion. Under Cal/OSHA's Repetitive Motion Injury (RMI) standard (Title 8, Section 5110), what minimum number of RMI cases must occur to trigger the standard?
- Two or more cases within 12 months (Correct answer)
- Three or more cases within 6 months
- One case in any department
- Five cases within 24 months
Correct answer: Two or more cases within 12 months
Cal/OSHA's RMI standard is triggered when two or more employees in identical or similar jobs develop work-related RMIs within 12 months.
Question 3: In California, which document must an employer provide to an injured employee within one working day of learning about a work-related injury?
- DWC-1 Claim Form (Correct answer)
- DLSE-55 Form
- Notice to Employees (Form 5006)
- Cal/OSHA 300 Log
Correct answer: DWC-1 Claim Form
Employers must give the injured worker a DWC-1 workers' compensation claim form within one working day of notice of the injury.
Question 4: Under California's Heat Illness Prevention regulation (Title 8, Section 3395), at what outdoor temperature must employers provide shade to outdoor workers upon request?
- 80°F (26.7°C) (Correct answer)
- 85°F (29.4°C)
- 90°F (32.2°C)
- 95°F (35°C)
Correct answer: 80°F (26.7°C)
California's heat illness prevention standard requires employers to provide shade whenever outdoor temperatures reach 80°F or above, and shade must accommodate all employees on rest or meal periods.
Question 5: An employee in California is placed on modified duty after a workers' compensation injury. The treating physician issues work restrictions. Who has authority to determine whether the employer can accommodate those restrictions?
- The employer, in consultation with HR and the treating physician (Correct answer)
- Only the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB)
- The employee's personal attorney
- Cal/OSHA exclusively
Correct answer: The employer, in consultation with HR and the treating physician
The employer works with HR and the treating physician to assess whether medically indicated work restrictions can be accommodated within the business's operational capacity.
Question 6: Which California agency has jurisdiction over workplace safety and health enforcement for most private sector employers?
- Cal/OSHA (Division of Occupational Safety and Health) (Correct answer)
- Federal OSHA
- Department of Industrial Relations – Labor Standards Enforcement
- California Department of Public Health
Correct answer: Cal/OSHA (Division of Occupational Safety and Health)
California operates its own OSHA state plan — Cal/OSHA — which covers most private sector employers and must be at least as effective as federal OSHA.
Question 7: Under California's workers' compensation system, a Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME) is used when:
- The parties dispute a medical issue and the employee is unrepresented (Correct answer)
- The employee has an attorney and disputes only wage loss
- The employer contests the claim before any medical evaluation
- A treating physician requests a second opinion voluntarily
Correct answer: The parties dispute a medical issue and the employee is unrepresented
A QME is appointed from a panel to resolve disputed medical issues when an injured worker is unrepresented; represented employees use an Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME) process.
PHRca Health, Safety, and Workers' Comp 3
Which California law requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who work 30 or more days within a year in California?